Phew! Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to decompress from the school year, my mind is starting to think about next year. Reflection is a vital component to effective lesson design. Shoutout to my precious friend, Silvia, for encouraging me to write this post. I was touched to know that you’ve been implementing along with me. You’re a rock star!

The success of our Passionate Kids Project experience could not have been possible without the buy in from my incredible students. We took the journey together and I’m honored to be their teacher. The class of 2017-2018 will forever be remembered for being part of the start of being an inquiry teacher.

Let’s get started on the reflection!

My biggest take away is that I need to start earlier and go slower. Next year, I need to think big, but start small. I started our inquiry unit in February with Caine’s Arcade, by March we were narrowing down our passions, April was spent writing article reviews, and May culminated our unit with Demo Slams and our Student-Led EdCamp.

I dove right into the deep end with free inquiry. We absolutely did it, but I had to pull back the reins at times because I needed to get my head around where we were going, conduct quite a few mini-lessons because we were embarking on new territory with new procedures, and I found that some students just weren’t ready for the immense amount of freedom that free inquiry allows.

Considering the types of student inquiry, I’d like to conduct two smaller units before the big passion project unit. In October, we spend six weeks studying Ancient Civilizations. I can see this being a perfect time to introduce structured and controlled inquiry. I plan to propose to students the option of working through an inquiry topic with me or choose from a short list of topics. The beauty of next year is that about half of the class was introduced to inquiry the previous year. I’m excited to take those students deeper. After the Ancient Civilizations unit, we have an Ecology unit of study. At this point, mid-November and December, I’m hopeful that some students will be ready for guided inquiry. Students needing more support will continue with controlled inquiry. I’m visualizing a menu for authentic pieces to help bridge the jump from controlled to guided inquiry.

I’ve been tinkering with game-based learning and I love creating hyperdocs. Google Innovator and Trainer, Dee Lanier, created SmashboardEdu. At the core, SmashboardEdu is instilling empathy in our students. Students begin by identifying a real world problem, research and solve the problem, share the solution, then reflect on their learning. I can see SmashboardEdu being a perfect fit with our Ecology unit. Several of the passion projects last year actually focused on endangered animals, pollution, and other environmental concerns. I’m excited to tap into the power of Dee’s resources and provide a fun way for students to answer their essential questions relating to Ecology.

As an educator, I’ve been using essential questions for years. But as I started implementing student inquiry, I’ve realized that I have a lot more to learn. I’ve ordered the book “Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding” by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins. I’m looking forward to deepening my understanding of essential questions. Additionally, I plan to teach my students the Question Formulation Technique, QFT, outlined in “Inquiry Mindset.” The gist of QFT is brainstorming a list of questions, sorting them into open and closed questions, changing closed questions to open questions and vice-a-versa, then selecting a powerful question for inquiry. I implement Station Rotation every Monday to introduce our week. I can see QFT being an engaging and meaningful collaborative station that we revisit throughout the year.

As part of our gifted program, the sixth graders are asked to give back to the community. Considering the Four Pillars of Inquiry, the fourth pillar, “Take on a New Challenge,” is a perfect fit. I’d like to have students work in groups to identify a community concern and develop a community action project to help address the issue. In the past, students have held a Thanksgiving food drive, given gratitude bags to teachers and staff, donated dog and cat food to the local humane society, and more. I’m excited to go deeper with our service learning.

I dabbled a bit with provocations this year. I love the idea of sparking interest through an image, video, picture book, or artifact. We used provocations in our student-led station during Station Rotation using YouTube videos and with Google Drawings using images and the what do you wonder, what do you notice, what do you know strategy. I plan to start using provocations and phenomena earlier in the year. I want my students to tap into their emotions, curiosity, and engagement.

Because we live in an era of standardized testing, this was always in the back of my mind. I was intentional about keeping my state standards in mind during the journey. Writing, researching, close reading, public speaking and so much more were part of the experience. I'm pleased to say that our test scores were outstanding. I'm a huge data nerd and charted comparisons for each student. I strongly believe that the independence that free inquiry allows, along with our whole class and individual reflections, was a huge part of our success.

I’m looking forward to continuing my journey as an inquiry teacher during the 2018-2019 school year with my students, as well as other passionate educators ready to start their own journey. It’s been an exciting and rewarding year diving into inquiry. If you’d like to continue the journey with us, pick up the book(s) “Dive Into Inquiry” and/or “Inquiry Mindset”. Both books have been a continued source of inspiration. Both Trevor and Rebecca are passionate educators that love sharing their expertise in the field of inquiry. Be sure to give them a follow on Twitter. Better yet, join their July book club using Flipgrid. Join here.

I can’t wait to continue my inquiry learning and bring phenomenal, open-ended experiences to my students that promote student agency, empathy, and authentic voice. If you have any questions or want to brianstorm, I've love to collaborate. I'm just a DM away.

ISTE18 has come and gone. It was everything I had hoped for and more. Chicago is a fantastic, bustling city with fabulous architecture, great food, and friendly people. Four days of engaging sessions, well-run playgrounds, and memorable meetups. As I started drafting this post (in my head), I did a play-by-play of each day. I could definitely do that, but instead, I’d like to share some big ideas.

First and foremost, I want to thank my loving husband for experiencing Chicago and ISTE with me. For two years I’ve wanted the experience. He encouraged me go. “Do it, Marilyn.” We did. My husband lived near Chicago during high school so of course he knew all the history. Riding the train into the city, he talked about the buildings, the early origins of Chicago, and the iconic food. While I spent my days at ISTE, he enjoyed the sites of the city. At night, we ate at restaurants he had pinned, relaxed with coffee, and did some sightseeing.

My big ideas . . .

ISTE is so big that each individual needs to make their experience what they want. ISTE is like the Mall of America. There are so many people, so many sights to see, and only so many hours in the day. But just like shopping, each one of us has our own purpose. Some attendees want to meander and be pulled in on a whim, some want to shop around for the right session, and some want the experience of being there. The beauty is that each of us can make the experience what we want it to be. There’s no “right way” to do ISTE.

There was so much passion at ISTE. At every session I attended, poster board I stopped at, or vendor I talked to, you could feel their passion. As I’m on my own journey to infuse passion projects into my classroom, I noticed that educators at ISTE were following their passions as well. Gamification, social media, emojis, Adobe Spark, Google, and more were some passions that I saw. At the crux of them all was building relationships. Tools and strategies come and go, but the human factor of education will always be there. At the heart of almost every session or interaction at ISTE, was knowing our students so that we can better meet their needs both educationally and socially. Being passionate about students is something we can all support.

Educators at ISTE are full of empathy. With 21,000 estimated participants, this may have been the largest gathering to date. Attendees showed tons of empathy waiting in lines for sessions, shuttles, and of course, the bathroom. With that many people, we had to be understanding. But what an opportunity to talk to new people. Line conversations are great! They’re so organic and real. I liked to ask what they were taking back to their classrooms. Answers would include tools, strategies, or ideas. But the reason was always the students. Educators have big hearts!

I’m a hugger. And boy were there lots of hugs at ISTE. I had quite a few Twitter meetups. They all started with a hug. I did a little research on the power of hugs. Hugs are for comfort in times of need, communicate “I’ve missed you,” and release oxytocin, the body’s happy hormone. I can honestly say, ISTE was a phenomenal 4 day event, and the hugs were by far the best part of it. I’m laughing now thinking of all the hugs. Hugs to presenters, hugs to Uber drivers, hugs to the PLN, and even help desk attendants. To everyone that was part of the hug fest, you are all very special. Your hugs filled me up. 2128 hugs were especially memorable. I want to bottle them up!

ISTE18 has come and gone. I’m a better educator and person because of it. I know. I absolutely know that great things are on the horizon. For each of you that attended ISTE, go back and make a difference. Build those relationships, encourage your neighbor, reach out and ask, “How can I help you?” That question was posed to me. I was caught off guard. I had to think. The question is so simple, yet so powerful. Let’s use it with students, parents, colleagues, and even ourselves this coming year.